Padres 5, Dodgers 3: Margot and Pirela keep raking

After two disasters against the Dodgers, the Padres put together a solid team effort to ward off a sweep at the hands of their most hated opponent. Manuel Margot and Jose Pirela led the offensive effort, as both went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Hunter Renfroe wasn’t too shabby, either, going 4-for-4 with a double. Jhoulys Chacin put up a solid start as he tossed five innings of shutout ball while fanning six.

Manny reminded us why he’s so great by dropping an early bomb on LA.

That was good, but the crooked number the Padres hung in the second was even better. Kenta Maeda beaned Erick Aybar to start the inning, then Carlos Asuaje followed with a single to right. Aybar went for third on the play, forcing Yasiel Puig to make a tough throw and giving Asuaje time to get to second. Luis Torrens drew a walk, bringing up Chacin. The pitcher grounded into a double play, but Aybar made it home. The inning could have come to a close shortly after, but Pirela and Margot hit back-to-back two-baggers to put the Friars up four-nil.

Chacin had a more productive at bat in the fourth, when he bunted Torrens into scoring position after the catcher hit a one-out single. That brought Pirela back to the plate, where he nailed a line drive for his second RBI of the afternoon. That was it for the good guys; the rest of the day was spent holding the Dodgers back.

Phil Maton took over for Chacin in the sixth inning, and ran into trouble for the first time in his big league career. After getting Chris Taylor to ground out, he gave up a single to Puig and then walked our old friend Logan Forsythe. Andy Green and seen enough, and called Ryan Buchter to mop up for Maton. Buchter struck out Enrique Hernandez, but Corey Seager hit a double to put the Dodgers on the board and hand Maton his first career earned run.

Buchter gave up one more run, a homer to left hit by our old friend Yasmani Grandal in the seventh. Freshly minted All-Star Brad Hand took the mound in the eighth, pitching a perfect inning and fanning two. Brandon Maurer, who has not been All-Star material, nonetheless got the rock in ninth, and held the Dodgers at bay for his sixteenth save of the year.

The Friars are on a happy flight to Cleveland, where they’ll enjoy a day off before facing the Indians at 4:10 PM on the Fourth of July.